Second year on the Security Council |
Successful participation in the World Government
On 31 December, the Republic of Croatia completed its term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2008 - 2009. Having successfully performed its duties on the Security Council, which represents the pinnacle of achievement in every country's foreign policy endeavours and highlights nearly 18 years of Croatia's membership in this global organisation, Croatia has reaffirmed its position as a responsible and competent member of the international community. As a Security Council member Croatia demonstrated its readiness and ability to assume full responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
Croatia began its two year term in the Security Council on 1 January 2008, and by the end of the same year held the Council's Presidency
for the month of December. Throughout its two year membership, Croatia chaired the Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee and concurrently co-chaired the Committee on Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Sanctions Committees on the Sudan and Somalia respectively.
Croatia’s unremitting commitment to the maintenance and restoration of peace is also confirmed by the fact that Croatia is engaged in 9 UN peacekeeping missions, involving the Croatian armed forces, police personnel and diplomatic staff.
The focus of Croatia's work in the Security Council was based on specific national interests and guided by foreign policy priorities of a country aspiring to membership in Euro-Atlantic integrations. In line with this, Croatia primarily participated in discussions about the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, as well as crisis-related issues pertaining to South East Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo). For the same reason Croatia was also a member of the Contact and Drafting Group for Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General for Georgia.
Special attention was also given to the most frequent topics on the agenda of the Security Council - crises on the African continent, as well as to the issues of the protection of civilians, women and children in armed conflicts. Throughout its work on the Council, Croatia particularly underscored the importance of the rule of law and consequently strongly advocated strengthening and full adherence to international law, notably human rights, international humanitarian and refugee law.
Throughout its mandate, while holding regular consultations with other Council members, including some of the largest world powers and permanent Council members, Croatia directly participated in finding enduring solutions for extremely complex situations, amongst others, numerous conflicts and other threats throughout Africa and Asia, the Middle East issue, the situation in Afghanistan, the Georgia – Russian conflict, as well as tensions emerging from the development of nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea.
Active participation of high-level officials
The active participation of Croatian high-level officials in Security Council meetings during its two year term only reaffirmed Croatia's
strong support for the Council's work and significance. The President of the Republic of Croatia Stjepan Mesić participated in the Council's historical session on Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament held on 24 September 2009 and chaired by the President of the United States which resulted in the adoption of a relevant resolution.
On several occasions other Croatian high-level officials also participated in the work of the Council: on 24 June Prime Minister Ivo Sanader addressed the Council during its regular semi-annual debate on the implementation of the ICTY exit strategy, underscoring Croatia's support for the work of the Tribunal and its commitment to full co-operation with the ICTY. On 11 November, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandroković participated in the Council's debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.
Croatian membership in the Security Council presented additional value to Croatia's accession process to Euro-Atlantic integration, as
well as an additional impetus for making that process more dynamic. Simultaneously, as a member of the Security Council, Croatia gained useful experience and knowledge that can now be applied to Croatia's activities within NATO, and once Croatia becomes a full-fledged member of the EU, it will also be used in all of its efforts aimed at reaching consensus in the field of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Active participation in other UN bodies
Drawing from first-hand experience gained during its membership in the Security Council, primarily in the field of post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding, alongside the development of democratic institutions and the rule of law, on 1 October Croatia once again presented its candidature for membership in the UN Peacebuilding Commission for the term 2012 - 2013.
Given that Security Council Reform and an overall improvement of the functioning of the UN system are also in the interest of the Republic of Croatia, Minister Gordan Jandroković participated in the Rome Ministerial Conference on Security Council Reform in February. Through participation and membership in various UN
bodies, Croatian diplomacy demonstrated its interest in the more effective functioning of this world organisation. In this context, it is important to highlight the election of Croatian diplomat Jasminka Dinić to the UN’s Advisory Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for the term 2010 – 2012.
In 2009 Croatia also actively participated in the work of other UN bodies and international organisations of which it is a member, thus contributing to the resolution of current global challenges faced by the international community (sustaining global peace and security, counter-terrorism, fulfilment of Millennium Development Goals, sustainable development, climate change, UN reform, to name a few).
The President of the Republic of Croatia Stjepan Mesić participated in the Non-Aligned Movement Summit on “International Solidarity for Peace and Development” held in Sharm El Sheikh in July. He delivered a speech at the High-level Panel of the 64th UN General Assembly Session. In December the President also led the Croatian delegation in the UN Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen.
In 2009, Croatia was a member of several UN bodies: the Security Council (2008 - 2009), the Commission on Population and Development (2008 - 2012), the Commission on Sustainable Development (2007 - 2010), the Commission on the Status of Women (2005 - 2009), the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (2008 - 2011), the Committee against Torture (2007 - 2010), the UN Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (2007 - 2010), the World Meteorological Organisation, President of the European Regional Association (2010 - 2014), and several UNESCO bodies: the Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (2006 - 2009), the Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Education and Sport (2006 - 2009), the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2007 - 2011) and Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2008 - 2012).